Five of her children are in school, and the other five are not. Not because Halima gave up on them, but because survival is must. Halima must fetch water. She must prepare meals for her family.
The Horrors of Tana River
The Tana River is not just far, it is dangerous. Crocodiles live in these waters, and everyone in Bula 2 knows is well aware of it. They make the journey anyway because without water, there is no life. Therefore, they take the risk every single day.
Halima lived with this fear for many years. It became a nightmare when her sister was attacked by a crocodile at that river. She survived, but the woman who came home was not the same. As a result, her life changed completely. and is now disabled, unable to walk properly, her life permanently changed after that trip to fetch water.
That attacks did not stop the trips. Halima still needed to fetch water every day. Meanwhile, the children still need to eat, drink and wash. So, Halima still walks, 03 kilometres there every day, knowing the horror and risk she has to take to provide for her children.
Costs of Unsafe Water
People often think of unsafe water as a health problem, and it is, but in Halima’s life, it is also a time, safety, and education problem.
Every hour spent walking to the Tana River is an hour not spent in school, earning, or being a child. When Halima’s older children help fetch water, their mornings disappear, homework waits, dreams wait, and childhood waits.
Underneath all of it runs the same quiet fear: that one day, someone else from this family will not come back Home safely from the river.
